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We relate to our favorite characters for a range of reasons. Maybe their family reminds you of yours, or maybe they crack the jokes you always want to make. As a lifelong sitcom fanatic, I’ve related to a lot of characters for all of the obvious reasons. For example, I had middle kid Malcolm’s mom and I wanted to come up with Chandler’s esoteric one-liners.
And then there’s Bob Hartley, the mild-mannered psychologist played by Bob Newhart on his ’70s sitcom. I relate to him too, even though I’m on the other end of the psychologist/client relationship, I have a southern temper instead of a midwestern calm, and I’m thoroughly uninterested in golf and football. Instead, the foundation for my appreciation comes from a quite frankly bizarre place: we have the same IQ and the same nervousness around that IQ.
Yeah, that little bit of trivia has spurred decades of devoted Newhart fandom. Truth be told, that’s not the sole reason why I love Dr. Hartley. The character has given me a whole lot of comfort in recent years, and I’ve grown to relate to him even more as one half of a childless couple and a legitimate source of style inspiration. But today, for Bob Newhart’s milestone 90th birthday, I gotta write about the Bob Newhart Show episode that led my life down this path–a path that includes just a lot of Bob Newhart content. The episode: Season 2’s “Mister Emily Hartley.”
The premise behind this one is simple: Bob finds out that his IQ is 129 and his wife Emily’s is 151. It’s a classic, one of the episodes that always pops up on “Best of Bob Newhart Show” lists. The episode also includes one of the most remembered jokes in the series, one that’s lived on as Newhart has added it to his late night appearances and performances (he still tours, by the way!). The morning after finding out that their equal partnership isn’t equal in the eyes of an IQ test, a petulant (Emily’s word) Bob says…
He continues: “Next to perfect is where the husband’s is higher than the wife’s. Third is where the wife is one point higher than the husband. And fourth, which is us, which is the worst, is where the wife is 151 and the husband is 129, which is a difference of… uh…”
“Twenty-two.”
It’s a perfect (albeit dated, sure) joke, capped off with Suzanne Pleshette’s exasperated but nonchalant delivery of that number. And just a sidenote: this episode comes from sitcom trailblazer Charlotte Brown, not only one of the funniest writers The Bob Newhart Show ever had, but she also became the first woman to act as showrunner on a primetime network show when she took over Rhoda in 1977.
The first time I saw that joke was back in college, when I’d spend my late mornings watching The Bob Newhart Show on TV Land before heading out to class. The fact that Bob and I have the same IQ stuck with me. Granted, I was tested when I was in elementary school and I–like Bob–don’t put much stock in IQ tests. But also like Bob, I couldn’t help but be petulant about being almost gifted back when I was a kid–and this is a trait that I’ve never been able to shake! I know exactly how Dr. Hartley feels when both Emily and Jerry say with a voice that sounds like encouragement but rings with pity, “That’s almost gifted.”
I tend to relate to characters and celebrities because they embody something I’m self-conscious about and are awesome either in spite of or because of it (the short jokes about Bob Hartley sprinkled throughout the series are another point of identification for me). But “Mister Emily Hartley” captures Bob at his anxious, frustrated, self-pitying worst, and wow do I know that feeling!
The episode’s also hilarious, in addition to being a retro manifestation of one of my deepest insecurities. Bob’s pity party crashes into a meeting of the High IQ Club, an elite group of–to be frank–total weirdos that invites Emily to join. Bob goes as Emily’s date, setting aside his discomfort and putting on a sharp, casual, off-white suit. Of course the event is black tie-optional, and everyone else optioned.
Well hello there, another major fear of mine! As someone that’s into clothes and style enough to write a whole article about Bob Newhart’s fashion choices, you bet my primary recurring anxiety dream involves showing up somewhere wearing the exact wrong thing. Do I want to get into how much time I spend thinking about my clothes, where the day will take me, and whether or not I will end up a bland suit in a room full of tuxes? That’s a whole other piece.
But even if he’d worn a tux (which he owns, I know), he’d still be doomed. That’s apparent when a pretentious High IQ’er (played by co-showrunner Tom Patchett) shows off his ability to read and speak backwards. Emily introduces herself, and he responds “Ylime Yeltrah.” Then he turns to Mr. Emily Hartley.
The rest of the party is populated with Stupid Human Tricks, like the newspaper astrology writer Ralph Hodiak, a kid with a 151 IQ and a dance card to fill, and one disgruntled waiter (played by other showrunner Jay Tarses). It’s insult after insult for Bob, who gets slow-talked to and excluded from the group picture (“The guy in the suit, just stay right there by the punch bowl”).
The High IQ get together is host to a parade of jokes perfectly crafted to rip on the dumb dumb in the suit, and that’s exactly what life feels like when you’ve got a chip (or a bag of’em) on your shoulder about being a 129. That’s especially true when you know your spouse fared better on the IQ battlefield than you (a feeling I also know well). Bob and I are smart guys (we are!), but that doesn’t mean we’re confident guys. And the way Bob’s anxiety spins out in this episode, manifesting in passive aggressive and aggressive ways…? I’m not proud that I relate to it, but I’m being honest here!
What it all comes down to, though, is that Emily just wanted to assert some independence. For once, she wanted her husband to be her husband instead of herself always being his wife. That push and pull is another one I know all too well as a married man, adding a whole new layer to this episode that wasn’t there back when I was killing time before heading to my TV production class. Even after all the insecurity and pettiness, there’s a foundation of respect and love there. And Bob doesn’t have to say that backwards in order for Emily to understand it.
